Arson Awareness Week May 2-8

2004 ARSON AWARENESS WEEK - MAY 2-8

The theme for this year's Arson Awareness Week is "Juvenile Firesetting: The Preventable Arson". The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the International Association of Arson Investigators (IAAI) sponsor Arson Awareness Week.
The crime of arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement of all other crimes with 55% of all arson arrests in the U.S. are children under 18 with nearly half of these age 15 or less with more than 5% under age 10. Juvenile arson and youth set fires results in over 300 deaths and 2,000 injuries annually and $300 million in property damage and more than 40,000 incidents annually.
The price that America pays for youth-set fires is extreme. Most of the lives lost are those of the very children setting the fires. In addition to the cost of the damaged property, there is the cost to the community of the increasing resources needed to fight the problem.
Fire in the hands of children destroys - regardless of a child's age or motivation.
Youth Firesetting IS NOT a fire problem... it IS a kid problem! In addition to fire departments, communities must involve the police department, mental health professionals, school system, children's hospitals, social services and the media.
If people can become more informed, along with communities having intervention and treatment programs for juvenile firesetters, strides can be made in this very preventable malfeasance.
Juvenile Firesetters continue to account for a disproportionate share of arson arrests according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and USFA National Fire Data Center statistics and the Federal Bureau of Investigations Uniform Crime Report.
The major goals of Arson Awareness Week are:
• To create a national recognition, awareness and understanding of the youth firesetting and juvenile arson problem in the United States.
• To encourage communities to get involved in the dissemination of arson awareness information by creating a simple, identifiable and unifying message for juvenile firesetting intervention and prevention.
• Organize local events that raise a community's awareness of youth firesetting and juvenile arson issues.
• Engage national, regional and local media outlets in delivering the message.
USFA has designed a media kit which includes brochures, new press releases, arson statistics and supporting area awareness events throughout the country. We are very optimistic about this year's campaign and think it will be one of the best to date.

Fires reported by U.S. Fire Departments show that children playing with fire started 41,900 fires, causing an estimated 165 civilian deaths, 1,900 civilian injuries and $272 million in direct property damage.1
The crime of arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement. For the eighth straight year, juvenile firesetters accounted for at least half of those arrested for arson. According to the FBI, nearly one-third of those arrested were children under the age of 15, and 5 percent were under the age of 10.2
Roughly three out of every four children experiment with fire, and at least four-fifths of associated deaths and injuries involve matches or lighters. Children also start fires by playing with candles, stoves, fireworks, and cigarettes.3
Just over half of children experimenting with fire in homes start in a bedroom. Three out of five involve children igniting bedding, mattresses, upholstered furniture or clothing.1
A major contributor to youth set fires is a child having access to lighters. In 1998, the most recent year for which national fire loss data are available, an estimated 2,400 residential structure fires occurred that were caused by children younger than age 5 playing with cigarette lighters. Children younger than age 5 playing with multi-purpose lighters caused an estimated 800 residential fires that resulted in about 20 deaths, 50 injuries, and $15.6 million in property loss in 1998.4
According to studies of firesetting behavior, children who start fires may be children in crisis, with the fires acting as cries for help from stressful life experiences or abuse.1
A study by the National Fire Protection Association indicates a substantial link between arson and illegal drug activity, on the order of one-fifth to one-fourth (20-25 percent) of reported arson cases in affected cities.1
The median age of children who start reported fires by experimentation is 5 years old, compared to a median age of 3 years old for fatal victims and a median age in the early 20s for non-fatal injuries.1
The median age of children who started fires by experimentation was 5 years old.1
Six to eight percent of all those arrested for arson are under age 10, a higher percentage than any other crime.1
Most children who experiment with fires start them with lighters or matches.1
The majority of child experimentation fires are started in bedrooms.1
Only a small percentage of school fire incidents are reported to fire departments each year. Incomplete fire reporting gives an inaccurate picture of the school fire problem.5
Sources:
1. National Fire Protection Association, Children Playing with Fire - Nov 2003
2. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Uniform Crime Report
3. U.S. Fire Administration's National Fire Data Center
4. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Fires Caused by Children Playing with Lighters - Sep 2000
5. Office of the Oregon State Fire Marshal, School Fires: The Need to Report, Sep 2000
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